Executive producer Alex Kurtzman reveals how one of television’s most storied franchises was brought back to the small screen in the shape of Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, and how the latter takes the sci-fi juggernaut in a new direction.

In a career spanning more than 20 years, Alex Kurtzman cut his writing and producing teeth on series such as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess and Alias. But it was his relationship with writer and director JJ Abrams, who created the latter show, that led Kurtzman to become one of the chief architects of the modern reboot of Star Trek.

Alex Kurtzman

Kurtzman co-wrote the eponymous 2009 feature film, which Abrams directed, and also co-wrote the sequel, 2013’s Star Trek: Into Darkness but missed out on the subsequent Star Trek: Beyond owing to the fact he was developing a new iteration of Star Trek for television alongside Bryan Fuller (Hannibal). Star Trek: Discovery launched on then-fledgling streamer CBS All Access in 2017, with Star Trek: Picard beginning in January this year.

The exec describes boarding the franchise, which began in 1966 with William Shatner’s James T Kirk captaining the USS Enterprise, as an “incredible ride” that is unexpected, delightful and surprising at every turn. “I never expected that, all these years later, I’d somehow be responsible for bringing Star Trek back to television and then building out this universe,” he tells DQ. “It’s been one of the true delights of my whole career.”

Kurtzman’s own love of Star Trek blossomed with the original series, which saw Shatner alongside Leonard Nimoy (first officer and scientist Spock) and DeForest Kelley (chief medical officer Leonard McCoy). It ran on NBC for just three seasons but became a cult hit in syndication, leading to the launch of four further series and 10 feature films until the reboot led by Kurtzman.

“When I was little, I had a friend whose dad worked in a jet propulsion laboratory here in LA and was building rockets,” he recalls. “He and his family would watch Star Trek and that was my first exposure to that show. People who work in the real world building things that go into space were inspired by Star Trek, and that seed was planted in a way I didn’t even understand at the time.

“The real big bang for me was The Wrath of Khan [1982], a very meaningful film – visceral and emotional and gorgeous and such an incredible character story. That was a big deal for me. And then I watched all of the films as they came out.

The original Star Trek initially aired on NBC for just three seasons

“I was very late to the party on The Next Generation [1987-1994]. A lot of my friends in high school were watching it and it wasn’t until I started doing a deep dive back into Star Trek for the 2009 movie in around 2006/07 that I started familiarising myself with The Next Generation and realising how much smarter my friends were in high school and what I’d been missing.”

Bringing the franchise back to television proved to be a “bumpy” path, most notably as Discovery co-creator Bryan Fuller left the project during development. That it would also serve as CBS All Access’s flagship show added further pressure on the series to be a success.

The story, set about 10 years before the original Star Trek series, sees the Klingon houses go to war with the United Federation of Planets and introduces the crew of the USS Discovery, featuring Sonequa Martin-Green as first officer Michael Burnham, alongside Doug Jones, Shazad Latif, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman and Jason Isaacs.

“They had asked me to be involved in it [after the films] and I had deferred the decision for several years because I didn’t really want to go back to it until I had clear enough reason to do it and a story I wanted to tell,” Kurtzman recalls. “Then they decided to not only launch it but launch it on a new network. So it wasn’t just carrying the weight of Star Trek’s return to television but also the success or failure of a brand new streaming service. It’s such a weird high-wire act I wasn’t really expecting, but there was a lot of support for it.

“We went through a lot of bumpy roads over the course of the first season and found that heat. When I look back now, I’ve met a lot of other people who have all done a lot of Star Trek shows and they unilaterally tell me that season one is always really hard. You undergo a lot of big changes but, in the end, it was a really gratifying experience because people liked the show. Some people like it, some people take issue with it but, on the whole, it’s been really successful and I’m really proud of it, of the cast and of the writers. It’s been amazing to see the show’s growth.”

Sir Patrick Stewart fronted The Next Generation

That growth now includes Star Trek: Picard, but it might not have happened at all had Sir Patrick Stewart not been persuaded to break his steadfast vow to never again step into the shoes of Jean-Luc Picard, the starship commander he played in seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and four feature films, culminating in 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis.

Thankfully, the actor was won over by the plan to focus on an older, retired Picard in a new stage of his life 18 years on. “Patrick was insistent from the beginning that we not do anything that had been done before with the character. He wasn’t interested in playing Picard as he had already played him,” Kurtzman says.

“He wanted to see the next chapter. Our show gave us an enormous amount of room because he couldn’t possibly have been the same man [as in Nemesis]. And not only was there a new timeline for him, there were other iterations of Trek, including our 2009 film, that really radically changed the direction of his life in ways he didn’t expect.

“He’s very much the old Picard, but the circumstances of his life have changed him so much and it’s really interesting to see a character wrestling with his soul and look back on his life more than looking forward, to think about the sum total of his choices. He’s living with a lot of regrets, a lot of sadness, and so the show really becomes his second chance. To me, that was a really exciting place to start a new show from. It certainly felt like there was no version of Picard that existed like that because now enough time had passed.”

Stewart insisted Star Trek: Picard develop the character

With so many hit series and films across multiple decades, it’s no surprise that Star Trek has one of the most fervent, passionate and committed fan bases in pop culture. But as those behind the recent Star Wars films and the final seasons of Game of Thrones will attest, immense popularity doesn’t mean immunity from criticism.

“You have to keep in mind the fans are really the true owners of Star Trek,” Kurtzman notes. “Other than [original creator] Gene Roddenberry, the fans are the ones who have kept the show alive in so many different forms. It’s OK to be critical of things, it’s OK to debate things; that’s part of what Star Trek is all about. I feel like we’re doing OK if we’re at a 50/50 split [in terms of popularity among fans], because fans are often divided internally about what they like and don’t like.

“If you’re just retreading old ground in an unoriginal way, I don’t think that’s satisfying for fans. It’s terribly important to listen to that voice but it’s also important to listen to your own voice and to ask yourself what you would want to see or not see.”

On set, Discovery and Picard’s use of visual effects means making the shows is comparable to a theatrical blockbuster. In essence, his job is to “figure out how to bring both the largesse of what the cinema screen has to offer and the intimacy that 10 hours of television has to offer and bring them together,” Kurtzman says.

“We aim to shoot big, cinematic frames, which means a lot of prep and advanced work in building sets that are typically much bigger than television show sets and then augmenting them with tremendous visual effects.

Star Trek: Discovery debuted on CBS All Access in 2017

“No other show I’ve ever done has got 50-plus years of history and mythology of story to drop in, either. The challenge is keeping the timelines of the stories synchronised in the mind. But there are great armies of people who I work with who are there specifically to say you can do this or you can’t do this or, if you’re going to do this, you have to understand the residual effects it will have.”

With a second season of Picard already confirmed, a third season of Discovery is due to air later this year. Beyond those, Kurtzman says there are “infinite” stories to tell in the Star Trek universe that can lead to multiple seasons and more spin-offs, as long as each one can stand apart with its own identity.

“The great goal of building out a whole universe is feeling like you’re getting the same aspects of one show with another show. If that doesn’t happen, you’ve failed,” he says. “You have to feel like you’re getting different things from every show, yet the goal is to have each show like a different crayon in a box of crayons where a different colour is a different feeling but it’s recognisably Star Trek. From that point of view, we could tell so many stories as long as we really take the time to do them properly.”

From the new season of Stranger Things to CBS’s long-awaited Star Trek: Discovery, DQ presents 10 of the hottest drama trailers to premiere at this year’s Comic Con event, which concluded in San Diego yesterday

Despite all the noise surrounding big-screen blockbusters such as Justice League, Thor: Ragnarok and Ready Player One, these days San Diego Comic Con is as much about television as it is about the movies.

This year’s event saw panels and special events surrounding shows such as The Walking Dead, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones and Westworld, delighting fans with behind-the-scenes gossip and clips of forthcoming adventures.

Lucky visitors were also able to catch a sneak peek at new series such as Stephen King adaptation Mr Mercedes, Syfy’s Ghost Wars and Star Trek: Discovery (pictured above), the CBS reboot of the hallowed sci-fi franchise.

Here DQ picks out 10 of the hottest new TV trailers to come out of the four-day event.

Krypton
The towering landscapes of Superman’s home planet are brought to life in US cable network Syfy’s first-look teaser for its upcoming Superman prequel, which is based on the characters created by DC Comics. The series will explore the Man of Steel’s lineage, focusing on the House of El. The series airs in 2018.

Marvel’s Inhumans
Family tensions run high in the latest Marvel offshoot to hit the small screen. The series follows the royal family of the Inhumans, a race of human beings altered by experiments carried out by an alien race known as the Kree, as they face a growing threat on their home planet and from their enemies on Earth. The series premieres on ABC on September 29, while the first two episodes will also be shown globally in IMAX theatres from the beginning of September.

American Horror Story: Cult
The teasers for American Horror Story never fail to be anything less than disturbing and unsettling, a tradition that continues with the first look at the seventh season of the FX anthology as row upon row of creepy clowns spell out their simple message: “Join us.” Creator Ryan Murphy took to Twitter to tease details of the latest instalment before Comic Con, revealing it would be known as Cult. Fans in San Diego then got to see some of the first clues to the series ahead of its launch launch on September 5.

The Gifted
San Diego was awash with volunteers ready and willing to lead the hunt for mutants in a stunt designed for Fox’s forthcoming X-Men series The Gifted. The series, which launches on October 2, tells the story of a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers. The opening of this trailer leans on Carrie as the teenagers unwittingly destroy a high school while simultaneously discovering they aren’t exactly average, as their family is forced to go on the run to evade capture by the authorities.

Stranger Things
The Netflix series that became one of the television talking points of 2016 is back for a second season, and this new trailer shows poor Will Byers once again in the ‘Upside Down’ as he faces a monster considerably bigger than season one’s Demogorgon. The use of Michael Jackson’s Thriller with Vincent Price’s iconic spoken-word part adds to the 1980s nostalgia. Stranger Things returns on October 27.

Marvel’s The Defenders
After the lukewarm reaction to Iron Fist, Netflix aims to get its Marvel franchise back on track with The Defenders, which brings together Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist as they face off against an enemy – led by Sigourney Weaver – hellbent on destroying New York City. The Netflix series launches globally on August 18.

Star Trek: Discovery
Fans at Comic Con were given a first glimpse at this new trailer for the long-awaited series during a panel with the cast and creative team behind the show, which will premiere on CBS and CBS All Access on September 24, in Canada on Space and in 188 countries on Netflix. The new incarnation of the space franchise sets up a conflict between the Federation and the Klingons.

Westworld
With an astonishing 22 Emmy nominations, HBO’s robot-centric western has certainly been one of the biggest shows of the last 12 months – and the robots aren’t finished yet. Here’s a teaser for the upcoming second season, which will air in 2018.

The Walking Dead
Like one of the zombies that stalk AMC’s hit series, The Walking Dead shows no sign of stopping – though the war now looks set to take place between Rick’s crew and the Saviours, with both sides gearing up for battle. Season eight debuts in the US on October 22.

Game of Thrones
After an extended break, Game of Thrones is back on air and two episodes into its seven-part penultimate season. That doesn’t mean there’s any less excitement for new footage of this epic series, as this teaser reveals some of what’s in store as Jon, Cersei, Daenerys et al ramp up their fight for the Iron Throne.

Science fiction has a long association with television, but it’s now more visible than ever. DQ explores how a shift in storytelling has pushed the genre into the mainstream.

When it finally launches later this year, Star Trek: Discovery will carry the hopes of the next generation of science-fiction fans. But the show is also a perfect example of the state of the genre on television.

The space-set franchise, which has been on air in some form since 1966, embodies the long-running popularity of sci-fi, which has roots as far back as the 1930s with the BBC’s fledgling broadcast service and a 35-minute play called RUR.

The fact that Star Trek is returning to television, albeit on US network CBS’s SVoD service All Access, is also proof of the current strength of the genre and the new opportunities it is finding on non-traditional platforms. But space-focused shows such as Star Trek, Doctor Who, The Expanse (pictured top) and Dark Matter represent just one part of a genre that continues to inspire and amaze – and shock and scare – viewers around the world.

Series like Orphan Black, Westworld, Black Mirror, Stranger Things, Sense8 and Legion represent the sheer breadth of stories that can sit under the sci-fi umbrella, offering unbridled creativity to those behind the camera. And though it was once the preserve of an elite group of fans, the genre has gone mainstream by focusing less on science-fiction and more on ‘science-possible,’ asking questions that resonate in the present day, whatever the setting.

The BBC’s Doctor Who currently stars Peter Capaldi

Regardless of whether series fall into the space opera or speculative fiction camps, Martin Baynton, chief creative officer at Pukeko Pictures, believes that sci-fi dramas “at their best are fairy stories for adults – they allow us to ask difficult questions, they’re stories of consequences and are often moral fables.”

He continues: “People don’t watch The Walking Dead for the zombies. It’s actually how these human beings deal with the implications of having to stay alive and function as a group. Everyone watches it fascinated by the drift of the moral compass of the characters and what it means to be human. Good science fiction always asks that question.”

Australian drama Cleverman, on which Pukeko is a producing partner, is set in a near future when creatures known as ‘Hairypeople’ must live among humans and battle for survival in a world that wants to exploit and destroy them, touching on themes of immigration and racism. Season two launches later this month on ABC in Australiana and SundanceTV in the US.

“Science fiction allows you to explore really fundamental consequences safely because it puts issues at a distance,” Baynton continues. “If you put it in a contemporary setting, it can become almost too powerful. So by putting it in the near future, it becomes a cautionary tale where you think, ‘We’ve got time to change direction and not go down that path.’”

For many viewers, the words ‘science fiction’ still conjure images of “spaceships, aliens and the planet Zargon,” observes Sam Vincent, co-creator of British drama Humans, which is based on Swedish series Äkta Människor (Real Humans). “They don’t necessarily think of things that are a little bit more grounded, more speculative and use ideas about the future to explore things that are happening in the present. That’s what Humans is.”

The series, produced by Kudos for Channel 4 and AMC and distributed by Endemol Shine Distribution, posits a “parallel present” in which robots known as ‘synths’ have become part of everyday life.

“Everything looks like it does now, except there are these humanoid androids,” adds Vincent’s writing partner Jonathan Brackley. “That was such a smart way of bringing this idea to be much more accessible for an audience, allowing us to enter this sci-fi world on a very grounded, domestic level, and having an everyday family at the heart of the show.”

Humans is also notable for dispensing with traditional sci-fi logic and, like HBO’s sci-fi western Westworld, wanting the audience to feel sympathy for the robots, rather than their human masters. “They’re really different shows, with different settings, tones and scales, but the most interesting thing for us about Westworld is that viewers are encouraged to root for and see through the eyes of these machines as consciousness dawns on them, much like in Humans,” Vincent says of the “companion” shows. “The humans are the bad guys now and that’s undeniably an interesting parallel.”

Artificial intelligence is also at the centre of Danish drama Unpunished, which follows a group of scientists as they attempt to create AI as a defence against a cyber virus that threatens to reveal the world’s best-kept secrets. Currently in development with producers Investigate North and distributor About Premium Content, it is slated to begin production in March next year.

But creator and producer Niels Wetterberg believes it’s a “fallacy” to say sci-fi is becoming more mainstream: “It’s always been very mainstream,” he argues, citing movies such as Alien, ET and Jurassic Park. “But the future is threatening us in a new way, and so the shows you see now are more science-possible. They’re moving from the realms of the fantastical to something more achievable, and that resonates better with a wider audience.”

Travelers sees a group of time-travellers from the future attempting to save mankind in the present

Humans and Unpunished are just two of the sci-fi shows rooted in some kind of present-day reality that allows them to tap into themes and issues affecting contemporary society – none more so than the increasing role of technology, which is also at the heart of Charlie Brooker’s darkly satirical Black Mirror. The anthology series, first commissioned by the UK’s Channel 4, is now exclusive to Netflix, which launched the third season last October.

The global SVoD platform and its competitors have undoubtedly had a huge effect on the way sci-fi is created, commissioned and consumed, while also giving writers the opportunity to explore ideas over 10 hours, where perhaps previously they might have been limited to a 90-minute movie.

Netflix series such as 1980s-inspired Stranger Things and mystery thriller The OA have ensured television can still have its water-cooler moments in an on-demand world, and the streamer has also been investing in a host of other sci-fi shows.

One example is The Expanse, the Syfy drama set in a future when humanity has colonised the solar system. Netflix acquired the series, which has been renewed for a third season, for global distribution late last year. There’s also Canadian time-travel series Travelers, on which Netflix linked up with broadcaster Showcase. Starring Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) and distributed by Sky Vision, the show centres on a group of time-travellers from the future who come to the present to save mankind.

“What’s interesting about this is sci-fi shows aren’t going anywhere,” notes Carrie Mudd, president of Travelers producer Peacock Alley Entertainment. “Travelers is not like the Terminator films, where you see glimpses of a dystopian future. Instead, that comes out through the characters and their experiences because they’ve never had a piece of fruit or heard a bird sing. It’s so much more character-driven and draws a much broader audience as a result of the drama and the characters.”

Concept art for in-development Danish drama Unpunished

Sci-fi isn’t appreciated the world over, however. Vlad Ryashin, producer and president of Star Media Group (Mata Hari), explains: “Russian viewers prefer more emotional dramas, focused on human collisions between the protagonists. Since the early 1990s, soap operas and comedies have represented solid options for the channels, while historical films and series are also a big attraction for mass audiences. Sci-fi is a bit too tough for a viewer who is looking for relaxation without being involved so quickly in some alternate reality or parallel world.”

But Star Media isn’t giving up on the genre just yet, and its efforts in the region could be buoyed by The Contact, produced by Ukraine’s Film.UA. The sci-fi crime drama sees three people – a criminal, a writer and a photographer – realise they can enter each other’s minds.

Series director Mikhail Barkan believes the secret to successful sci-fi drama lies in looking at the world in a new way. “It’s not about chasing impressive visual effects or creating realistic monsters, it’s about looking at timeless issues from a different angle,” he says.

“Only three things are of greatest concern for humans: where are we coming from, what are we living for and where are we going after death? Unfortunately, there are no answers we can all agree on – but science-fiction offers the possibility to imagine ‘what if?’”

Sci-fi has always encouraged viewers to question what the future may hold but it’s telling that the shift in dynamic towards science-possible fiction has led the genre to become more visible than ever.

“It used to be second-tier drama,” Pukeko’s Baynton says. “Now it’s of such high sophistication that it’s a leading dramatic art form. Clearly new formats have changed the landscape, because you have the ability to tell complex stories in which characters can develop over 10 hours.”

Mudd adds: “There will always be a lot of room for sci-fi, in whatever sub-genre you choose to define a show. But everything’s cyclical. There hasn’t been a big space opera like Battlestar Galactica or Stargate SG-1 in a long time – maybe that comes back next.”

Not all sci-fi is rooted so firmly in reality, however. Currently in development at Toronto-based True Gravity Productions, Election Day is set on Earth but undoubtedly has some fantastical elements – pondering what might happen if historical leaders could be resurrected.

Taking place in 2055, the show, which is yet to be attached to a broadcaster, sees companies, not countries, ruling the global population. Tech advancements mean humans can be grown from DNA samples, leading to some of history’s best leaders being brought back to life and battling to be elected world president.

“There are no boundaries,” True Gravity Productions creative director David Merry says of working in sci-fi. “You don’t have to adhere to the regular norms of society or the planet, because we’re inventing stuff that could potentially be around 30 years from now. It’s fun to just step outside the realm of normalcy.”

Clockwise from top: The first image from the forthcoming Star Trek: Discovery pictured alongside The Next Generation and Voyager

Humans co-creator Sam Vincent on the significance of Star Trek

In terms of pure science fiction, Star Trek is both a space adventure and a sci-fi of ideas – both of the main strands of the genre – and for me it remains one of the more thoughtful and thrilling explorations of sci-fi on TV.

All the Star Trek shows are notable but the high point is The Next Generation [1987-1994]. That stands apart. Each of the six Star Trek shows [Discovery will be the seventh] reflected the values of the era really interestingly and commented on them in a fascinating way. You watch the original show and it’s very rooted in the era and yet, at the same time, had some of the great sci-fi writers of the 20th century like Harlan Ellison contributing ideas and scripts. It was also very much an expression of values.

Sam Vincent

At its core, Star Trek has always been about exploration, which is a hopeful and optimistic venture. So there is an optimism hardwired into Star Trek. When you look at The Next Generation, it was very much an expression of a high point of liberal ideals – that you should not interfere in other cultures, that you should be peaceful. It was a very diverse crew, there were all kinds of aliens, there were even people with disabilities. It was very ahead of its time but simultaneously it was the most optimistic, thoughtful and humane version of Star Trek. The shows that followed were very interesting takes on that.

Deep Space Nine [1993-1999] was set on a space station and was all about the aftermath of a horrendous war between two alien races. It had huge parallels with what was happening in the former Yugoslavia, focusing on people trying to come to an accommodation after this conflict. Interestingly, it was the one Star Trek that didn’t move, being set on a space station. That was very important for the DNA – it wasn’t about a ship going into other territories.

Then you had Voyager [1995-2001], which was about getting lost on the other side of the galaxy, arguably reflecting more uncertain times. The most recent series was Enterprise [2001-2005], which was a strange one. It became more conservative again, slightly more empire-building. It harked back to the early series quite a lot; it reflected the George Bush era and was a bit more traditional.

I cannot wait for the new Star Trek. The creative pedigree is really interesting and it will be intriguing to see how the show deals with the world in which we live now.

As the dust settles on another action-packed San Diego Comic-Con, there is plenty to look forward to if the new footage previewed at the event is anything to go by.

From teasers for forthcoming new series to big reveals about new seasons of fan favourites, expectations were certainly heightened by what was showcased during four days of panels, screenings and guest appearances at the San Diego Convention Centre.

Here’s a rundown of the best videos unveiled at Comic-Con:

Starz unveiled the first trailer for American Gods, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman and due to air in 2017

BBC America also dropped the first footage of comic book adaptation Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Fox previewed a new trailer for its take on classic horror movie The Exorcist

Another new series Syfy’s Incorporated, which is set in a world controlled by corporations. It is produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon

The trailer for The Walking Dead season seven introduces King Ezekiel and his tiger (pictured at the top of this page)

But not to be outdone, spin-off Fear The Walking Dead gave fans a teaser of a new storyline that feature a cult that sacrifices its own members in the second half of season two

If that wasn’t enough blood, Starz also previewed season two of Ash vs Evil Dead as star Bruce Campbell announced Lee Majors was joining the cast

Fans saw the first glimpse of season four of Sherlock

Here’s the first footage from Prison Break, which is returning to Fox in 2016/17

ABC used Comic-Con to reveal that Aladdin and Jafar would be making their debuts in the first scene of sixth season of Once Upon a Time

But excitement for the sixth season trailer of MTV’s Teen Wolf was tempered with the announcement that the new run would also be its last

Of course, Comic-Con royalty status is reserved for the big comic book publishers, and this year was no exception in terms of their television crossovers.

Among its film and television panels, DC Comics unveiled the third-season trailer for The CW’s The Flash, which introduces the comic’s Flashpoint storyline after Barry Allen goes back in time to prevent his mother’s murder

Fans inside the convention centre also saw footage from the fifth season of Arrow

The most recent entry into the DC Comics television landscape, Legends of Tomorrow, debuted its season-two trailer

Meanwhile, Batman prequel Gotham unveiled clues about its upcoming third season

It was Marvel, however, that stole the show and provided some of the biggest talking points from this year’s event.

The studio unveiled the first trailer for Legion, the new FX drama from Noah Hawley (Fargo) that is set in the X-Men universe

Marvel also debuted footage from its upcoming Netflix shows. First up is Luke Cage, which debuts online on September 30

Iron Fist follows, completing the line-up of superheroes to appear on the SVoD service in the wake of Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage

The studio also confirmed there will be a third season of Daredevil with this teaser

But also in 2017, the quartet will come together in miniseries The Defenders, as previewed in this teaser that plays against the soundtrack of Nirvana’s Come As You Are

Not to be forgotten, however, is a little show called Star Trek, which returns to television next year on CBS and CBS All Access in the US and Netflix around the world. And in the week the latest feature film in the franchise, Star Trek Beyond, hit cinemas, Trekkies got to see this test footage from Star Trek: Discovery, which will follow the crew of the USS Discovery.